The present invention relates to an electrical connector that is separable in response to an impulse, and more particularly, to a separable elastomeric connector with a plurality of conductive members and that provides solderless electrical connections between terminals at an interface.
Electrical connections between terminals that are provided by solderless, pressure contacts are well known. These solderless connectors commonly find use in mating electrical interfaces that are frequently brought together and then frequently separated. For such applications, the reliability of the connector and the quality, that is the low resistance, of the mating surfaces are both important factors.
These connectors that use pressure contacts to establish electrical continuity may also find use in quick disconnect applications that respond to an external stimuli, such as an impulse, created by an explosion produced by a pyrotechnic device. For such applications, a connector may be located on a carrier, and when the connector if separated, a dispensable device is released. The connectors used for such applications should be reliable and should operate successfully in the presence of the contaminates, such as smoke, that may be created by the pyrotechnic device.
For such applications, the pressure contact connectors may comprise springs activated, pointed, pressure pins that are mounted on the carrier from which the dispensable device is released. These pressure pins come into contact with conductive annular rings at the base of the dispensable device and make electrical contact therewith. The use of pressure pins have several drawbacks which are as follows: a) the pins are fragile and subject to damage caused by normal handling; b) the pins are prone to failure when subjected to vibration encountered in normal operations in an aircraft where the pins and the dispensable devices are normally used; c) the pins are unreliable in the presence of contaminates normally found on printed wire board (PWB) and which contaminates are typically present during operational conditions; and, most importantly, d) the pins are the most unreliable components in the interface even though the pins are used repeatedly and even though the dispensable device is only used once. It is desired that pressure contact connectors be provided that do not suffer from the drawbacks of pressure pins. Further, it is desired that pressure contact connectors be reliable in their operation and be economical in their fabrication.